Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Introduction to the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church – Roman (Latin) Rite

There
is probably no other religion on Earth that is more widespread and known than
the Catholic Church. As I write this,
the media is gathering in Rome
anticipating the election of a new Pope due to the fact that Pope Benedict XVI
retired. (Ruth, Lisa M, Wash.
Times) The Catholic Church is the largest religion
on Earth with over 1.5 billion members.
It is also the oldest western religion.
One can say, based on history that it has built western society as we
know it today.

The Catholic
Church is a revealed religion. (CCC. Para.
813) It can be traced back to Jesus
Christ and the Apostles. (Bokenkotter, pg1)
The Church states that it has the four marks of the true Church: One,
Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. (CCC. Para. 865) Jesus Christ is thought to be by billions,
the Son of God. The Jews prior to Christ
were expecting a Messiah or Savior. This
Messiah was thought to be a warrior who would rescue Israel
similarly like Moses did in the book of Exodus found in the Bible. (Levine,
USCatholic.org) However, the one claming
to be the Messiah - or “chosen/anointed one” - was a poor carpenter named Jesus
Christ. (Bible Catholic Pastoral Edition, Mark 6:1-3 [p.83-84]) This would cause scandal among the Jews of
the time who expected a man with a sword in hand that would defeat the oppressors
of the nation of Israel.

Furthermore,
instead of rousing up the people to fight against Rome,
Christ spoke of peace, love, forgiveness and repentance. (Bible Catholic
Pastoral Edition, Matthew 7:1-5 [p.11] John 16:33
[p.222] Matthew 4:17 [p.12]) This
was a sharp contrast to what the image of the Messiah was supposed to be. According to the Gospels in the New
Testament, Jesus chose 12 men. (Bible Catholic Pastoral Edition, Matthew 10 [p.26])
These 12 men would represent each of the twelve tribes of Israel.
(Bible Catholic Pastoral Edition, Matthew 19:28
[p.48]) In a sense, Christ was renewing
the already established Jewish religion. (Bible Catholic Pastoral Edition,
Matthew 19:28 [p.48])

One of them named
Simon was a fisherman and the oldest.
Jesus would change his name to Peter which means “rock.” He would also tell Peter that He would give
him the keys of the kingdom of Heaven
and Earth. Whatever Peter changed would
be changed in heaven and whatever he left untouched would be left untouched.
(Bible Catholic Pastoral Edition, Matthew 16:18-19 [p.42]). This giving of the keys originates from
Isaiah 22:20-22 in the Old Testament. (Bible
Catholic Pastoral Edition, Isaiah 22:22
[p.546]) Hezekiah gave the keys to the kingdom
of David to a servant named Eliakim
to be the prime minister. The keys are
also a symbol of succession. The
Catholic Church teaches that Peter would have a specific primal role in the
Church as the visible head of it. This
role would be defined as the Papacy. (CCC
paragraph 881) Jesus would then continue
stating that the gates of hell would not prevail against the Church.

Before the
crucifixion, death and resurrection of Christ, Christ told the Apostles that he
would send a Paraclete or “helper” who will remind them of what he has taught
and would guide them. (Bible Catholic Pastoral Edition, John 14:15-17 [p.218]) Jesus would then ascend into heaven and the
Apostles would be left to begin their mission to preach the Gospel to the world
and Baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Catholic Pastoral Edition,
Matthew 28:18-20 [p.70]) On the fiftieth
day after the Resurrection, this helper would come over the Apostles and Mary -
Jesus’ mother - as they prayed in a room. (Catholic Pastoral Edition, Acts
2:1-13 [p.236-237]) This helper would be
the Holy Spirit and would allow those who received Him to speak the Word of God
clearly and in the vernacular of those who were listening. The Catholic Church calls this day Pentecost
and it is considered the birthday of the Catholic Church. (CCC
paragraph 1076)

After Pentecost,
the Apostles would spread around the region and preach the message of Jesus
Christ. They would baptize, and
celebrate primitive versions of what are called “sacraments,” or visible signs
of God’s grace. (Catholic Pastoral Edition, Acts 20:7 [p.273], Acts 19:5 [p.270];
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 774) The Catholic Church would establish its
center in Rome. (Bokenkotter, Pg.
16-27) Peter and another disciple named
Paul who was not originally part of the Apostles founded the Church there. This is why the Church is centered in Vatican
City, Rome. According to Origen of Alexandria, Peter was
crucified on the land upside-down. He
did not want to die in the same manner as Christ so he requested to be
crucified in this manner. His remains
would be buried where the basilica of St. Peter’s is now. (Bokenkotter, 42) His “cathedra” or chair is also preserved
there.

Moreover, some
erroneously call the Catholic Church, the “Roman Catholic Church;” however,
this is not the proper title. The
Catholic Church is a collection of about 22 different churches or rites. (CCC,
Para.1203) Latin is one of those rites
which originated in Rome as the
official vernacular. Each rite has a distinct way of having
Liturgy, or public service/worship.

The early Church
used the philosophies of its time to explicate Christian dogmas. They used Greek philosophy’s view of the
“Logos” to explain God. God has always
been part of philosophy whether Greek or not.
The major difference with the God of philosophy in ancient Greece
and the Biblical/Qur’an God is that this being is not named or treated as a
person who interacts with humanity. This
Supreme Being is merely described as the “esse subsistens” or the absolute
being, while the Judeo-Christian God names Himself and interacts personally
with humanity according to Pope Benedict XVI. (XVI, Benedict, 130)

The Catholic
Church would eventually be recognized as the official religion of the Roman
Empire after Constantine
receives a vision of a Christian symbol, the chi-rho which means Christ.
(Bokenkotter: 35,38) He would hand over
the Pagan temples to the Catholic Church which would be transformed into
Christian themed buildings. (Bokenkotter, 39)
The Pantheon is an example. It
originally existed to give homage to the many Pagan Roman gods and now it is a
Catholic Church giving homage to Christ’s mother and all the Christian martyrs,
or those who died for the faith. The
Church would rise in power after this and would eventually take over the Roman
Empire. (Bokenkotter, 89-90)

With this temporal
authority, the Church under the leadership of Popes was able to promote the
religion more and leave its mark on society.
It presented the western idea of the university and created the first
hospital system. Many priests and monks
worked in the sciences such as Franciscan Roger Bacon who formulated what we
now use as the scientific method. (Bokenkotter, 143) Even the “Big Bang” theory was developed by Monsignor
George Lemaitre who corrected physicist Albert Einstein who believed the
universe was constant and not expanding. The Bible or Scripture itself was put together
by the Catholic Church in 382 A.D. by PopeDamasusI. (CCC. Para.
120) Scripture was defined as the “Word
of God” and Christians were required to learn it. By using the Bible or Sacred Scripture as
well as Sacred Tradition, or the teachings of the Apostles and early Christian;
the Catholic Church define its teachings. (CCC.
Para 87, 94)

The religion
itself is based solely on the person of Christ. (CCC.
Para 666) Christ is seen as the source of the truth, liberty
and salvation from sin. (CCC 2466) Grace, or the favor or life of God is given
to people. (CCC. Para.
1996) The people using free will can respond to it with the gift of faith. They then put that faith into works or action
in order to be justified in the eyes of God. (CCC.
Para. 1993) The Church sums this up in the Theological virtues of Faith, Hope
and Charity. (CCC. Para. 1813, 2095) The living of these virtues will bring about
the Cardinal virtues of, Fortitude, Prudence, Temperance and Justice. (CCC.
Para 1805, 1834)

In addition to
these virtues, the Catholic Church offers the seven sacraments which are
divided into three categories: Initiation, Healing and Vocation. Baptism, Confirmation and the Holy Eucharist
are the Sacraments of initiation. (CCC. Para.
1113) They leave an indelible mark on the souls of believers who receive them.
(CCC. Para. 698)
Anointing of the Sick and Penance are the Sacraments of Healing. One offers comfort to the sick and prepares
them for death while the other removes all sin when a believer confesses his or
her sins to a priest. (CCC. Para.
1421) Lastly, Holy Matrimony and Holy Orders are the Vocation Sacraments. God can call one to marry the opposite
gender, or a male to become a deacon or priest via ordination in Holy
Orders. Only celibate men can become
deacons, priests, bishops, cardinals and pope. (CCC.
Para. 1580, 1598) Women are called to the religious
life, but this is not the same as Holy Orders.

The Catholic
Church is a monotheistic religion which believes God to be three distinct
Divine persons who co-substantially exist as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (CCC.
Para. 253) God is the only one worshiped while the
saints, or men and women who succeeded in living the Christian virtues and have
died are canonized and are believed to intercede on the behalf of those still
living on Earth or the “Church Militant.” (CCC.
Para. 956)

The Mother of
Christ, commonly referred to as the Virgin Mary holds a special veneration by
Catholics. (CCC. Para.
721) It is believed that she has appeared to specific individuals throughout
the centuries. Many shrines were built
on or near the spot where she had appeared.
In addition to this, Catholics stress the important of a prayer
life. Liturgy is the official worship of
the Church. (CCC. Para.
1136) Catholics are required to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of
obligation. (CCC. Para.
2042) They must frequent the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist and must
take part in good works. Sacramentals,
or objects and actions that are considered reminders of the sacred and bring
blessings are used. (CCC. Para.
1677) Popular sacramentals are medals of saints, rosary beads, chaplets,
scapulars and holy water.

The Catholic
Church believes that the human race is fallen from grace. After the original sin of Adam and Eve, all
of humanity was tarnished by it and must remove this sin via baptism. (CCC.
Para. 390)
However, actual sin still remains which predisposes people to sin via
their own free will. When a sin is
great, it is called mortal. Mortal sins
are sins that must have three criteria, 1. It must be a grave matter. 2. One must contemplate committing the sin 3.
One freely committed the sin. (CCC. Para.
1857)

If a human being
dies with a mortal sin, he or she will most likely end up in hell, or the state
of absence from the love of God. (CCC. Para.
1035) Mortal sins are removed only via the sacrament of Penance. (CCC.
Para. 1496) Those sins which are committed without
premeditation are called Venial. (CCC. Para.
1862) These sins can be removed with an act of Contrition. Anyone who dies with these sins will remain
in the state of Purgatory which cleanses a soul prior to entry into heaven. (CCC.
Para. 1031) The Sacrament of Penance does not remove the
suffering that one incurs upon oneself due to sin. Indulgences or the merits of Christ and the
saints are applied to souls in order to remove this suffering. (CCC.
Para. 1471) The Catholic Church teaches that human
beings have an immortal soul which can exist after death in either heaven, hell,
or temporarily in purgatory. (CCC. Para.
1022)

The Catholic
Church teaches that it is the Mystical body of Christ. Christ is its head, but a visible head
remains on Earth called the Pontiff, Vicar of Christ or Pope. (CCC.
Para. 1119) The Pope is an ordained man who is elected
by the Cardinals, or princes of the Church.
The Cardinals vote among themselves who will replace a Pope. The Church has had 266 Popes from St. Peter
to Pope Benedict XVI. Recently, Pope
Benedict XVI retired and a conclave was held which is the ceremony from which a
new Pope is elected. The Cardinal of
Argentina, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected on March 13, 2013 and took the name of Pope Francis.

In closing, the Catholic
Church is a religion that is well organized and has a long history. It was difficult attempting to summarize the
Catholic religion because of the volumes of information on it. I think the religion is rational and if one
observes it correctly, one will benefit greatly. Its ideas are often misunderstood. The Church has done much for society and is
the largest charitable organization in the world. It provides both spiritual and material needs
to all peoples, even non-Catholics. The
Church educates people of all races, ages, genders, faith and no faith.

To my knowledge,
the Catholic Church is the only religion that promotes science and even has its
own observatory. Despite the bad
reputation some of its members have given the Church, the Church deserves a lot
of credit for many good things.

Works Cited

Bokenkotter, Thomas. A Concise History of the Catholic
Church, Revised and Expanded Edition. Image Books, 1990

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